The Five Stages of Grief
by Guardian of the crest
Summary: A flash fiction look at our heroes and the stages of grief, but not in the way you might expect...
1. Stage one: Denial

Hey folks! Sooo, had a bit of weird inspiration for this little mini-series. Obviously you can tell from the title it's going to be about the emotions associated with five stages of grief, but maybe not in the way you'd expect. There's also no strong connections from one stage to the next. This is going to be some flash fiction I wanted to try, so no long reads but hopefully they'll still be fun! I'll stop talking now and let you all get to it!

**Stage one: Denial**

_Teeth brushed? Check._

_Suit clean? Check._

_Deodorant? Check_

_Hair combed? Check._

"Hey Fire! How would you like to hang out with me Friday night? I've got tickets to see -"

"Sorry Flash, I've already made plans."


	2. Stage two: Anger

**Stage Two: Anger**

She was touching him again. As if the commissary was the place for something like that. Heroes should have more professionalism. Maybe she'd prefer whispering to the business end of a mace, instead of his ear.

Minx.

Skank.

Stupid b-

If he kisses her again, I'll pull his lips off his face.


	3. Stage three: Bargaining

**Stage Three: Bargaining**

The idea of prayer was foreign to him. A human concept he couldn't grasp.

Pray before meals.

Pray before bed.

Pray with family.

Pray with friends.

Pray for thanks.

Pray for forgiveness.

Pray to a deity that might not even exist. It didn't make sense.

Not until the sound of steady beeping filled the sterile room, broken only by the hiss of a respirator. 

Not until his days and nights were spent sitting at her bedside.

Not until the doctors said there was nothing more they could do.

Not until he was praying himself, pleading for a miracle.


	4. Stage four: Depression

**Stage Four: Depression**

"Hey Jimmy! You seen Lois around here?"

"She was heading to Perry's office a few minutes ago. You're in a good mood today."

"Just excited to get started on the exposé piece."

"You sure it isn't because you're going to be working with Ms. Lane for the first time in…. What? Three months?"

"Kent!"

"Yeah, Chief?"

"The Justice League just broke up a major heist downtown. You and Jimmy get down there and cover it!"

"But I was supposed to be working on the mayoral scandal-"

"Lois can handle it! Get down there now!"

"Tough break, Clark…. Clark?... You ok?"

"Yeah Jimmy…..I'm fine."


	5. Stage five: Acceptance

**Stage Five: Acceptance**

Why wouldn't she let it go?

It had been fun at first. The flirting, the dancing, all harmless. Ways to break up the burden of routine maintenance and endless meetings. Then there was Paris and Kasnia. Maybe it should have stopped then, but it didn't. Only after a desperate kiss did it ever occur to him how deep the waters were getting.

A night on the roof, almost forgotten in the wake of a witch's curse. It might have been better if she'd forgotten. Instead, she harped on the flimsy reason he gave her. Reasons thrown together, because he couldn't bear to tell her why she needed to stay at arm's length.

She was a princess, both figuratively and literally. The idol of a real life fairy tale who was being guarded by a dragon. She deserved to be swept off of her feet and away into the sunset by a knight in shining armor, or saved by the daring prince arriving just in time to slay the beast and return to the happily ever after.

He knew she thought he was the one from the fairy tales, but she was only half right.

Knights were valiant men, glittering figures of strength and honor. Not men who hid in the shadows and used the darkness as their weapon. Princes brought prosperity to their kingdoms; they were symbols of hope, not the debauched façade he put on.

People had labeled him as both in his life, but they were just as wrong as she was.

He wasn't the knight. He wasn't the prince. He was the dragon. He was the menace who would keep her locked away in a tower, safe from the prying eyes of the world. He was the one who would jealously guard her like a glittering jewel, because next to her, the darkness lifted and for a moment he didn't feel like the monster he was.

But that wasn't the way fairy tales worked. Princesses only got their happily ever after once the dragon was dead and gone.

Bruce knew Diana would have hers eventually. In time, she'd realize it too.


	6. End

What'd you think? Hopefully you all liked it, and could tell pretty easily what characters were being referenced in which stage. In case you didn't pick up on it too, I wanted to use the different stages of grief to describe the various relationships that have developed between our beloved heroes. Not sure why, as I'm usually not this sappy. I'm more of an action person, but when the muses sing, you gotta' listen.

Anyway, thanks for reading everyone and don't be afraid of that review button there at the bottom. Let me know what you think or if you have an idea for me to try!

See ya next time!

-Gotc


End file.
